Does more flow = more bio filtration?

  • We are currently upgrading MFK. thanks! -neo
Redearsunfish said:
I like to think of it in terms of volume, the more water you can turn over the better, but volume of water doesn't mean speed of flow. So if you could somehow move large volumes of water slowly, that would be ideal, like a waterfall vs. a fire hose sort of thing. However, I think flow is beneficial inside the tank to eliminate dead spots and bring the water to the filter, and that's why i like powerheads inside the tank that move water.

Having said that, i'd aim at 4000 GPH on your tank.
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I agree with this. There's is a point of balance but that would depend on how much media you have and a large enough surface area in ratio to your flow.

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Test your water, if your ammonia/nitrite free then its fine, there's nothing more that Bio filtration can do....weather its 20x or 1x turnover it doesn't matter.


More flow is always better for mechanical filtration and current for the fish.




×Go S. Vettel #1 Infiniti Redbull! 4x WDC!!! Congrats on another flawless title and 9 wins back to back in 1 season (record!) See you next year in Australia boys!× <GET BETTER SCHUMI>
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Cheap way to decrease nitrates and keep your fish healthy: http://monsterfishkeepers.com/forums/showthread.php?t=504763
 
My water parameters are perfect, and I'm not having any problems. As I said, I was just throwing this out there for debate.

I run a separate mechanical filter with a 4000 gph flow. My pumps on the wet/dry are adjustable speed so I was wondering if I could play with the flow, and the effect it would have on bio filter efficiency. From your responses, it seems like I could get away with even slowing them down.
 
bro said:
My water parameters are perfect, and I'm not having any problems. As I said, I was just throwing this out there for debate.

I run a separate mechanical filter with a 4000 gph flow. My pumps on the wet/dry are adjustable speed so I was wondering if I could play with the flow, and the effect it would have on bio filter efficiency. From your responses, it seems like I could get away with even slowing them down.
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Yea as long as fish waste (ammonia) is converted to nitrites then nitrates it doesn't matter the turnover/gph especially if you have a separate filter for mechanical filtration! I would suggest turning down the turnover on your Bio to conserve energy!

There's only one way to measure Bio filtration efficiency and as I said that's parameters. Very seldom does a seeded tank experience problems maintaining BB, the flow would have to be incredibly slow like <1/4 turnover per hour probably less? And I don't think there's a ceiling to turnover/gph on Bio because even with the faster flow equating to slower contact time there is so much turnover of the water column that its exposure time is achieved thru turnover! For example 10x turnover vs 1x means that the 10x increase will make 10x more contact with the Bio but with the slower gph turnover of 1x the slower flow equals more contact time so it almost balances out between the 2. I don't see any difference between 10x vs 1x IMO

Most filters although serve 3 purposes: Bio/chemical (when needed), mechanical and current but with your setup you can fine tune each which is nice and a luxury!




×Go S. Vettel #1 Infiniti Redbull! 4x WDC!!! Congrats on another flawless title and 9 wins back to back in 1 season (record!) See you next year in Australia boys!× <GET BETTER SCHUMI>
__________________________________________________________________

Cheap way to decrease nitrates and keep your fish healthy: http://monsterfishkeepers.com/forums/showthread.php?t=504763
 
I'm running 1/4 your flow and my params after 3 weeks are 0-0-20 so I don't think you'll have a problem with less flow.
 
I would imagine the specific media and style filter make a big difference also. I was using pond matrix, which to my knowledge would provide different amounts of flow through it anyways, but id also say on something like a wet dry you can have too much flow to the point of it not being as effective as possible. Flow seems to be a point of debate with bio reactors
 
The_Don said:
I'm not sure if this applies but I know for bio-wheels the amount of speed in which the wheel is spinning will not change how much ammonia is being removed from the tank. So whether its contact time with water is short or long, there is not a significant difference. Hope this helps.
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I am afraid you are mistaken
 
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